Japanese wild grape

Photo: Qwert1234 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Survives zone 6 through 9

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

A wild vine of Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Taiwanese hill thickets — traditionally fermented into simple home 'mountain grape' wine and, more recently, studied for the resveratrol content of its small, dark, tart berries.

Hardiness

Zone 6–9

Habit

Vine

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Sept–Oct

Mature size

Vine 5–10 m

Light

Full sun

Soil pH

6.0–7.0

Environment

Temperate

Native range

East Asia — hills and mountains throughout Japan, plus Korea, China and Taiwan

Status

Both wild and cultivated

Years to fruit

2–3 yrs

Growth speed

Medium, to about 5 m — notably more compact than most wild Vitis species

Spacing

200 cm (79 in) apart — about 4 m² (43 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Deeply 3- to 5-lobed, heart-shaped-based leaves 6–10 cm across, dark dull green and hairless above, covered in a rusty-brown felt beneath

Root system

Vigorous and deep-rooting, as in most of the Asian wild grapes.

Fruit description

Small berries about 9 mm across, edible raw or dried

Propagation

Seed (fresh-sown, or 6 weeks cold stratification if stored), hardwood cuttings taken December/January, or layering

Pollination

⚠ DIOECIOUS — needs male + female (a vigorous fruitless wild vine is usually a lone male)

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.